


My Lion Cub Not Yet Grown

by fluxy



Category: The Hobbit (Jackson Movies), The Hobbit - All Media Types
Genre: Fili has a lot of feelings, M/M, Pre-DOS, Sub!Fili
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-06-03
Updated: 2014-06-03
Packaged: 2018-02-03 06:23:21
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,609
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1734320
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fluxy/pseuds/fluxy
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>For all the shared glances and finished sentences split between them, Fili and his brother were hardly the same. But perhaps Fili has found someone new to confide in...</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Short Fuses

**Author's Note:**

> So I don't actually know where I'm going with this. At first the goal was smut but now there's just a lot of feelings all over the place in this first and second chapter. The last chapter will steer itself back on track, though (hopefully!) x_x

Fili enjoyed fishing.

 

It was a rare, quiet joy, one which Kili only saw as a task. The blond concealed a sigh as Thorin approached the pair. He could guess their uncle’s instructions before they were even uttered.

 

“Fili, Kili. Collect the firewood.” He told them. Again.

 

Without protest (but perhaps just barely), Kili dismounted his pony and sought out their duty immediately, only lagging back a bit when he noticed his brother taking his time. Eventually, the older Durin set his pack down beside his own pony to join him.

 

They didn’t have to search far to collect a few branches. Fili watched the campsite from the corner of his eye as the others set up their own tasks. It was with Bofur that he sees them-- the pair of fishing rods the company had bothered to bring along. There were a few rivers to catch from before they reached the Misty Mountains. But that only meant the opportunity to fish for dinner was going to be limited. The prince listened to Thorin’s distant voice directing itself at Bofur.

 

“Take the halfing with you. Bring back what you can before Bombur is finished.”

 

The toymaker nodded, happily handing a rod to the hobbit. Bilbo took it more confidently than Fili would have expected. He wondered how much fishing was done in the Shire.

 

A soft grunt pulled Fili back to his own task.

 

With a curse his younger brother stumbled back from a prickly bush. Fili straightened from where he hunched over, hands on his belt.   
  
“What have you hurt now?”

 

Kili frowned, clutching his hand. “Nothin’.”

 

Fili caught a glimpse of the few thistles stuck to his brother’s fingers. With an unimpressed look, the blond snatched Kili’s hand to examine it closer. Kili, of course, snatched it almost immediately..

 

For all the shared glances and finished sentences split between them, Fili and his brother were hardly the same.

 

“It’s nothin’!” The brunet repeated.

 

“Oh, go fall on some more of them then!”

 

Two halves of a whole, no doubt. But that didn’t stop them from acting like the brothers they were. One shove here, then a harder one there, and soon they were both on the ground in a tussle. It’s Dwalin who finally comes to break up their little wrestling match, yanking them apart by their blue hoods.

 

“Enough!” He barked. At that they stopped. None of the others in the company seemed to bother batting an eye. None except Thorin, who slowly cross his arms from across camp, waiting.

 

“Your uncle’ll still send you back to your mum covered in thistles before we reach that mountain.” Dwalin snapped hotly. The large dwarf’s nostrils flared with a sigh. “You’ve collected enough. Bring it back, then.”

 

Kili sneaks in one last elbow in as Dwalin and Thorin turn away, but not before Fili does. There was not much heart in either jab. Brushing himself off, Fili marched away from his brother, making it a point not to look back. It was not uncommon for them to split themselves up in these moments. They were both of them tired from the journey so far.

 

The prince sighed.

 

_And we’re not even halfway there._

 


	2. Baiting Hooks

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> More feelings. And also my first multi-chapter fic!

Bilbo hadn’t had the pleasure of fishing in months. Though it was no vacation, he was glad to finally be of some use on the company’s journey. Too inexperienced to hunt and too unfamiliar with just whatever it was dwarves used to start their fires, BIlbo could do little but keep the ponies company these past few weeks. With a draw of his arm he was lining his fishing pole up nicely, even earning himself a bit of praise.

 

“Make a hobby of fishin’ back in Hobbiton, did you?” Bofur asked as he lit his pipe. He sat waiting with his line beside him patiently.

 

Bilbo threw a brief glance over his shoulder. “Some summers, yes.” He admitted before returning his gaze to the stream. Bilbo let the water lap just at his toes, reminiscing. In truth, it had been some years since his last venture  to the Shire’s better fishing spots. Bilbo hadn’t done much of anything before this journey…

 

The hobbit gave a start when a loud crash rang throughout the woods; The sound of pots and pans clattering and a few ponies whinnying had Bofur on his feet.    
  
“What was that?” Bilbo wondered. Bombur’s irritated shouts came soon after.   
  
Bofur snuffed out his pipe. “No clue. ‘Y don’t mind watching mine for a moment do you?” He asked with an apologetic smile. Bilbo smiled back and shook his head.

 

Whatever the commotion at the camp was, it soon died down. Bilbo could only guess something had spooked the ponies, though Bofur didn’t come back a soon as the hobbit had thought. Not that he minded. Bilbo had a feeling fishing was Thorin’s way of keeping their burglar out of their hair. Just this once, the hobbit was quite content with the assumption.

 

Still on his own, Bilbo nearly missed the movement of Bofur’s line, quickly setting his own down to catch it before it got away. With a few tugs he reeled it in, huffing out a chuckle when he lifts an impressive catch out of the water. The fish flopped into their basket with vigor while Bilbo baited the empty hook once again. He thought nothing of the soft rustle just a few feet away. As it drew nearer, a hesitant voice made itself known.

 

“Why did you do that?” It asked.

 

Bilbo blinked, glancing up from the bank. A look of surprise crossed his features when he caught sight of Fili standing curiously near the tree line, alone. Bilbo quickly washed his hands the stream before standing. 

 

“With the line.” Fili asked further. He made a twisting motion with his wrist, imitating the hobbit’s earlier technique. 

 

“Oh,” Bilbo understood. Picking up the line he held it out with a smile. “Would you like me to show you?”

 

Hesitance was interesting to witness, particularly in a Durin of all dwarves. Bilbo watched as the prince glanced over his shoulder, as if weary of being caught. But even as he pursed his lips, Fili grasped the rod with purpose, sizing himself up beside Bilbo as the hobbit reached down for his own line again.

 

“It’s so the fish doesn’t have a chance to fall back in, you see.” Bilbo explained, wrapping his fingers around the line just above Fili’s hook. The blond nodded carefully as he listened. “Just a short tug. And only when you intend to catch dinner. Otherwise you can just let them go free again.”

 

Fili arched a brow. “Are you always so considerate with fish?”   
  
The hobbit chuckled, light and airy. The sound gave Fili half a mind to find reasons to hear it more often. It echoed sometimes, Fili could recall during their brief time together,  far behind himself as Bilbo traveled with the rear end of the company. Bilbo seemed quite open with Balin and Bofur. Fili enjoyed seeing them smile. 

 

“When done for sport or good fun there’s no need for trophies. It’s just fishing, after all.”

 

Fili dwelled on the innocence of Bilbo’s point. Hobbit ways did seem to encompass something more innocent than the young prince was used to. A comfortable silence fell, Fili’s line casting out to join Bilbo’s. They bobbed in the water with little else disturbing them. For a moment, the dwarf felt quite…  tranquil . Naturally, it was up to Fili himself to botch it up.

 

“--Kili doesn’t like to fish.” He suddenly blurted. 

 

Guilt sealed Fili’s lips closed in an instant, as if he had confessed something unforgivably shameful. Bilbo turned away from the stream to look at him, unaware of any such guilt. He looked more expectant than anything else. Fili wasn’t sure he could explain all that he meant.

 

Kili didn’t like to fish . Fili’s mind echoed. Didn’t like to fish. Didn’t like to whittle or carve... When it was time for chores Kili had always preferred sweeping to putting out the rugs. And Kili once enjoyed playing dice as much as Fili did, but now he preferred other games while drinking. When stories were told, Kili liked their fathers’ victories in war, and dozed off during tales of their struggles as rulers of their own people.  Fili had realized, after  many years of realizing, that he and Kili weren’t always so different. They had  become  different. Like a stream winding along the bottom of a valley that would eventually split in two. The closer they got to the Lonely Mountain, the more time they lost; Soon, Fili would have to face the responsibility of being a true prince of Erebor, in ways that Kili seemed content to ignore. It was the only subject neither of them saw fit to discuss--  truly  discuss in depth.

 

Bilbo’s brow furrowed at the blond’s sudden fall back into silence. He lowered his line, as if confused. 

 

“But you do.”

 

With three words, Fili’s racing thoughts stilled. He stared down at the hobbit until the tips of his leaf-shaped ears turned pink under the scrutiny. 

 

“I-- overheard you, and Kili. Just the other day. You were speaking of-- well--” Bilbo trailed off, suddenly doubting himself. He was certain he heard it somewhere…

 

“I do.” It was Fili’s ears that wanted to pinken now. The idiotic things he could have said with the hobbit listening! He hadn’t even known Bilbo was near enough to hear. Were all halfings so keen to surprise?

  
Fili switched the grasp on his fishing pole as he cleared his throat, his gaze falling back to the stream.    


**Author's Note:**

> More to come <3


End file.
